In this age of technology, people are increasingly using electronic device such as mobile phones and tablets “in-the-moment” to search for things, find reviews, make purchases, and to make both social and professional connections. The trends for social connections are increasingly becoming less planned and more serendipitous, due to influence from current application providers, such as Snapchat. Even more, social and dating spaces are moving towards immediate meetings.
Currently within the art, dating application and other personal meeting applications typically running on smart phones connecting users using in application messaging systems. For example, Tinder is a dating app that works on proximity of the smart phones, but not specific location. Foursquare dating app has a feature that allows people to virtually “check in” to a specific place. HelloTel is another dating app that allows people to check in to a specific location and then broadcast that they are interested in meeting up for drinks, dinner or networking.
Studies have shown, however, that users of dating apps tend to communicate solely through in application messaging systems within the dating apps and sometimes to the exclusion of any in person communications. Even further, in using a professional platform, such as LinkedIn, users feel that communications with other users trend towards formal. As Whitney Wolfe, Founder of Bumble states, “ . . . oftentimes, success comes from spontaneous connections.”
As such, there is a need for a technological solution to the existing problems involved in making an in-person encounter. Ideally, the technological solution would be able to sync users at a particular location to initiate in-person communications while respecting each person's rights to privacy. It is to such a technological solution that connects users in real-time, facilitates human-to-human interactions, while protecting and respecting the privacy of each user that the present disclosure is directed.